‘Battalion 1944’ Proves Simplicity Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Developed by Bulkhead Interactive and published by Square Enix, “Battalion 1944” revisits this era of gaming with nostalgia and good gunplay.

Remember the days long ago when first-person shooter (FPS) games did not need to be fancy to be entertaining to play? Back then, all that was needed for an FPS game to be fun was a couple different guns to use, a cool map and an intense atmosphere created by the anxiety of wondering when you will be shot. Nothing was too complex. It was simply point, aim, shoot and repeat.

“Battalion 1944” hit early access today (Feb. 1), and as quoted from one the developers, it will be “the best FPS of the year.”

The game has many great things working for it.

I would like to first suggest going to the Steam Store and looking up “Battalion 1944.” When you get to the game’s page, I highly suggest clicking on the second video. The video is nostalgic, emotional and it gives a much better understanding of what the game means to the people working on it, rather than what is in the game, which I will be going over.

“Battalion 1944” is set during World War II. You can either be on the side of the Axis, playing as a German soldier or as part of the Allied forces as an American Soldier. The goal of each match is to shoot more enemy soldiers to score points, ultimately pushing you closer to victory and your enemies to defeat.

The theme of “Battalion 1944” is simple. From the little bit I have seen, simple seems quite fun. The gameplay looks very intense as players square off with WWII accurate rifles and machine guns, including the German Kar98 and the American Thompson machine gun.

The environments seem well-crafted and are based off actual locations in Europe where battles took place during WWII. In these well-constructed environments, there are adequate amounts of places to hide and take cover during a firefight, so survival is at least possible.

Quick reflexes and timing also play a big part in this because, well you know, if you don’t fire first your opponent does. Many modern FPS games give you time to set up an attack because maps tend to be rather large. “Battalion 1944” remedies planning out attacks by having small maps and a lot of close quarters combat, so you do not know who will be around the next corner.

Artistically, the graphics of “Battalion 1944” do not really compare to today’s high-end stuff. However, I feel that the drabber, less polished environments and the gameplay complement each other by sticking with the theme of simple and fun FPS.

There are three game modes to choose from.

In the first, you have to Capture the Flag. Each team tries to take a flag from the other team’s side and bring it to their’s.

The next is Domination, which to me sounds like a King of the Hill mode where you most likely will hold specific points for certain periods of time to get points for your team.

Lastly, Team Deathmatch is where two opposing teams of five will put their skills to the test to see who can rack up the most kills for shooting their enemies.

These modes are already in the game, as it is, and later there will be Behind Enemy Lines and War Tide. I do not know what those last two will be, but they sound cool.

“Battalion 1944” is a purely multiplayer experience with no campaign or story missions. However, the development team has hinted at a potential for a single-player, story-driven campaign once a few of their large-scale goals have been completed.

The game is out now on the Steam Store early access page for a fair price. If you feel that you want to experience the joys of a great FPS with fun gameplay elements, I suggest you check it out.